Paterson woman pleads not guilty in alleged beating death of her husband

Andrea Consales, with her attorney Richard Baldi, in court on Monday, July 14.

A 59-year-old Paterson woman pleaded not guilty in state court Monday to charges that she murdered her husband.

Andrea Consales — a Clifton schoolteacher and the daughter of former municipal judge Leon Consales, who died in 2006 — was arrested last week and charged with beating her husband at their home on Feb. 13, causing injuries that led to his death the following day.

Dressed in a prison uniform, Consales showed little emotion in the Paterson courtroom, speaking only to answer Superior Court Judge Marilyn Clark’s questions about her U.S. citizenship, home address, and the pronunciation of her last name (con-SALES, she said).

During the brief hearing, Assistant Passaic County Prosecutor Jason Statuto provided some additional details about the death of 44-year-old Giovanni Iuliano.

Responding to a call for medical assistance, first responders found Iuliano with multiple blunt-force trauma to his body and head, Statuto said. Iuliano died on Feb. 14.

Consales told authorities that he had fallen, but medical personnel and law enforcement found evidence of blood stains “in several areas of the house,” and deemed the injuries consistent with homicide, Statuto said.

Consales’ lawyer, Richard Baldi, said the victim may have sustained some of his injuries outside the house and that the presence of blood in the couples’ shared home did not necessarily indicate a violent crime.

A history of domestic violence and alcohol abuse could come into play in Consales’ defense, Baldi said.

Consales, a special education teacher at Christopher Columbus Middle School, was placed on unpaid leave from the Clifton school district on March 3, “with a termination date to be determined,” according to meeting minutes from the Board of Education.

Baldi said he expected Consales’ family would post her bail, currently listed at $1.5 million. The couple had no children.